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“我到了一般人去不了的地方”(原创)

Angela Yin-Goniak : Conference Interpreter is indeed an envied profession

 

法国盟加传媒 (8sino)

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戛纳电影节除了耀眼的明星,在明星身边的同声传译​也很吸引眼球。

法国盟加传媒特别采访了资深同传尹璧君女士。尹女士几乎为所有参加过戛纳电影节的中国电影人做过同传,如吴宇森、王小帅、范冰冰、章子怡、金城武、黄晓明、佟大为、舒淇、李连杰。如何成为优秀的同传,光鲜亮丽的职业背后有哪些艰辛,同传的就业前景如何 ……,尹璧君女士娓娓道来。

盟加传媒:同声翻译被我们认为是神一样的人物。高薪不说,同传总能跟优秀的人物在一起,总在高大上的地方,总有吃不完的美食。请您用简短的语言说说您的同声翻译的生活。

尹璧君:高级国际会议同声翻译的确是人人称羡的职业,可以陪同无数位重要人士、见数不清次数的大场面、参与多决定当今局势的大决定、接触太多意想不到的行业、到一般人去不了的地方。我常开玩笑说,我是陆海空都做过了!

AY: Conference Interpreter is indeed an envied profession, he/she can accompany dignitaries, take part in big events, participate in major decisive situations, get involved with unimaginable occupations, go to places closed to the general public... I often say jokingly that I’ve worked for ground-air&sea!

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盟加传媒:同声传译一直是您的理想吗?您如何当上了同声传译?

8sino: Has Conference Interpreting always been your dream? How did you become a conference interpreter?

尹璧君:不是的,说来话长,我因为从小在意大利罗马长大,因此高中时到了法国,学了法语后,加上我的汉语、意大利语和在罗马就学了的英语和德语,已经会五种语言。虽然程度不一,但是比一般同龄的孩子对语言更有兴趣。

高中毕业前,我有幸遇到一位在卢森堡欧共体工作的法国翻译,她向我介绍了巴黎三大高等翻译学校 (巴黎高翻ESIT) ; 但那是研究所级别,是大学毕业后才能去报考的。由于报考条件之一是在第二外语和第三外语国家生活过至少半年,因此我申请了美国奖学金,去了纽约大学,学习后回法国考取了巴黎高翻。

就读期间我有幸再次获得了奖学金,去美国加州蒙特利尔国际翻译研究所修得了硕士学位,又返回巴黎高翻同年获得两个学位。毕业后就从事高级国际会议翻译的工作,也返回母校教授翻译课程。

AY: No, it wasn’t, this is a long story: I grew up in Rome(Italy), then came to France when I was in high school and learnt French, in addition to my Chinese mandarin, Italian, English and German(that I studied in Rome), I spoke 5 languages. Though my language proficiency was not at the same level in each one of the 5, I suppose I was more interested in languages than youngsters of my age.

After high school, I was lucky to meet a French translator working for the European Community in Luxemburg, she introduced me to ESIT (Ecole Supérieure d’Interprètes et de Traducteurs) at University of Paris Sorbonne III, but it’s of postgraduate level, and I could apply for it only after I’ve got a B.A.. As one of the prerequisites of the applicant for ESIT was having spent at least 6 months in the country of his/her 1st and 2nd foreign language, I applied for a US scholarship and was admitted to CUNY (City University of New York), after that stay I came back to Paris and passed ESIT entrance exam.

During my studies at ESIT, I obtained a US scholarship and went to MIIS (Monterey Institute of International Studies) in Monterey, California, where I got a M.A., then came back to Paris and passed my ESIT graduation exam and received a DESS diploma (French postgraduate level). Since then, I’ve been working as a conference interpreter and also went back to ESIT to teach conference interpreting.

盟加传媒:有人说,同传这个职业“来也匆匆,去也匆匆”。忙的时候每天要赶场,会议的内容也大不相同,而且每时每刻都会有新的词汇产生。请问您平日怎么训练自己的基本功?有没有事半功倍的方法?

尹璧君:国际会议每次只维持几天,的确是短暂的,同声翻译麦克风一关也好像成了过眼云烟,但是在会议期间他们传递的讯息和搭建的桥梁并没有流失,当场各国代表之间的沟通和留下的各种语言文本的记录都是会留存下来的。

国际会议翻译会接触到各行各业,由于隔行如隔山,我们不可能什么都懂,因此会前准备非常重要。互联网的出现确实给我带来了很多方便,我刚开始工作的时候,每次会前都得去找资料或请对方邮寄过来,费时费力,而且我常出差,有时根本收不到。现在只要电邮发过来或上网找和看资料,无论我身在何处都可以为下一场会议做好准备。

除了准备即将召开会议的主题,我也在日常生活中随时看随时听,累积词汇和吸收新词和知识。有时看到一些在一个语言里好笑或有意思的词句,我会默想怎么翻成另一种语言等。

至于方法,可以因人而异,我喜欢 «联想 » : 将新字与影像或事物做联想便于记住。

AY: An international conference lasts only 1 to a few days at the maximum, it is indeed very short just like a passing cloud. Simultaneous Interpreting for e.g., when you turn off the mike, it’s already over, however, information passed and communication bridges built during the sessions are not lost, exchanges between delegates of different countries and texts in different languages are kept.

Interpreting for international conferences can touch upon different fields and occupations, as each of them is unique (difference in profession makes one feel worlds apart), an interpreter can’t know everything, therefore, preparation before a conference is of utmost importance. The arrival of Internet has certainly made my life easier, when I started in this profession, I had to go and collect all the materials or make them sent to me, but as I was often away from home, sometimes I couldn’t get them in time for my meetings. Whereas now, I just go on Internet and look for materials or have them sent to me by e-mail, it saves time and energy and I can prepare for my next meeting no matter where I am.

Beside meeting preparation, I pay attention in my daily life to reading and listening to words, to get acquainted to new idioms or expressions. Sometimes when I hear jokes or funny phrases, I think of how to translate them into the other languages I know.

As for the method, it depends, it can be very personal, I like to do “associations”: I try to associate words to images or things, so I can remember them easily.

盟加传媒:同传基本是每20分钟换一个人,因为实在是太高强度的脑力劳动。同传过程中,哪个步骤最具有挑战性?

尹璧君:经过严格培训和有经验的同传也要有体力,因为同传相当费脑力也同时耗体力,每20分钟一换是多年前国际会议口译协会和一群医生们,经过研究和测试后定出最不伤身的时间标准。我听说在某国有次有人单独做一天同传结果猝死的事情。

在做同传的过程当中,我认为最难的是听,因为如果没有听对、没有听懂,接下来的各个步骤都是错的,反之如果听对听懂了,接下来自己可以掌握怎么最好的说出来。当然绝不能让词不达意的人滥竽充数。

 

AY: Simultaneous Interpreting is quite physical, even for well trained and experienced interpreters, because Simultaneous Interpreting (SI) is energy-consuming, it combines mental labor and physical labor, 2 persons in a booth take turn every 20 minutes, that is what AIIC (French acronym for International Association of Conference Interpreters) and a group of physicians tested and concluded as the least damaging timespan for the interpreter’s health. I’ve been told that once an interpreter worked alone in SI for a whole day of intensive meeting and died of a sudden death.

 

During the process of Simultaneous Interpreting , I think the most difficult part is the hearing (how to listen), because if the interpreter doesn’t hear or understand correctly, then every subsequent step is wrong, whereas if he/she hears and understands correctly, then he/she can convey the message in his/her best aptitude mastering the way to express it; of course, people who don’t know how to get their thoughts across cannot be tolerated in this profession.

盟加传媒:不能要求同传翻译完美,能避免失误或者错误已经算很厉害了!口译毕竟不是笔译,尤其是同声传译,做到“为快不破”即可。您同意这种说法吗?您认为,同传最容易犯的错误有哪些?

尹璧君:同声传译不是没有完美,是很难有完美,原因很简单,因为是在一瞬间必须兼顾听到和听懂原文、思考转换成译文、将译文说出来、听自己说了什么和继续听原文。如果有充分和良好的准备,完美不是遥不可及的,最起码必须要求自己追求达到完美。

同传最容易犯的错是没有听透原文的意思,为了求快就急急忙忙的说出来,意识到了以后又没有负责的将错纠正过来。还有就是,为了听原文而忽略了自己说出来的译文,因此没有察觉到自己的口误或句子不完整。

AY: I don’t think Simultaneous Interpreting (SI) can’t be perfect, I can say it is very difficult to be perfect. The reason is simple, you must_in an instant_ take care of listening and understanding, convert the original into the target language, say the translated speech and at the same time control what you just pronounced while continuing to listen to the coming speech. When a meeting is thoroughly prepared, it is not impossible to reach perfection in SI, at least we must pursue perfection. The most common error is when the interpreter hears the speech, doesn’t get the true meaning and say it in a hurry, or even worse, he/she realizes the error but does not take the responsibility to correct it. Another common mistake is when the interpreter only pays attention to listening to the original and does not control what he/she says in translation, so does not realize a slip of the tongue or an incomplete sentence has been made.

盟加传媒:作为翻译官,您最美好的记忆是什么?有没有特别囧的时候?我记得有位翻译因为一时忘了“青蛙”这个外语单词,当场学蛙叫。

尹璧君:我非常的幸运,多年的职业生涯给了我非常多彩多姿的回忆,但是由于职业秘密的缘故,我不能谈论。

美好的记忆有很多,我可以谈论的有 :为范冰冰和王小帅,还有章子怡、金城武、黄晓明、佟大为、吴宇森等在戛纳影展的同传和交传,另有为舒淇和李连杰在电视台的同传,很有意思。

至于特别囧的时候,倒是有一件趣事可以跟大家分享 : 我刚出道的时候,曾有机会到一特殊基地,当我一面翻译提醒大家要注意自己身上的任何纸做的东西时,说时迟那时快*,刚好一架飞机滑行经过我身边,我手中的翻译笔记本上的纸立刻飞了起来,那些熊腰虎背、军服笔挺的将领们立即到处弯腰帮我捡纸。原来他们是怕纸被飞机引擎吸进去,会对叶片不好。当时我真是惊慌得不知所措,恨不得就地挖个洞躲进去。事后再想起当时英姿焕发的将领们到处捡纸的模样,又好笑又可爱,真是难为他们了 !

*说时迟那时快:小说中的常用套语。意指事情发生的速度不是记叙速度所能跟得上的。

 

AY: I’ve been very lucky, because in all these years, my profession brought me satisfaction and gave me many many fantastic memories, but because I’m bound by professional secrecy, I can’t talk about them. However, there are public events I can share with you, such as doing Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting at Cannes for the International Film Festival where I worked for Fan Bingbing, Wang Xiaoshuai, Zhang Ziyi, John Woo, Takeshi Kaneshiro(Jin ChengWu), Huang Xiaoming, Tong Dawei, as well as doing CI and SI for Shu Qi and Jet Li on TV, those were very interesting experiences.

 

As for funny and embarrassing moments, there’s one episode I can share with you, it’s at my beginning, once I had the opportunity of working in a military base, while I was translating to the military officers the instruction to pay attention to anything in paper, at that very moment a jet-fighter passed nearby and all pages of my note-book flew away, all the robust officers of dignified bearing in well ironed uniforms bent down to pick up my papers, actually it’s because paper could damage blades of engines, I was terrified and extremely embarrassed so much that I wished there were a hole for me to hide. Even now I still laugh and feel sorry when I remember images of dashing and spirited generals bending down in a hurry to gather and pick up papers for me, I wish to tell them if I could: “sorry guys!

盟加传媒:较英语来说,法语算是小语种。您觉得在就业市场上,法语的同传更具有优势吗?

尹璧君:法语势微是事实。但随着信息发达、人员交流频繁和上网人数的剧增,会英文的人越来越多。法语的同传也必需对英文有良好的理解力,因为在国际会议中有时文件只有英文本。

就业方面,在法国、比利时、瑞士某地区,法语同传还是有市场 ; 除了上述国家,还有非洲法语国家和加拿大的法语区都需要好的同传,法语仍然有出路。

AY: With the rapid development of information technology, people communicate and exchange more and more, the number of persons going online has increased exponentially, and people knowing English are increasing, so it’s a fact that French is declining. On the job market, even SI interpreters working with French must have a good understanding of English, because sometimes in international conferences, only the English version of texts is provided.

As for job opportunities, they do and still exist in France, Belgium and parts of Switzerland for interpreters working with French. If it’s in China, relations with French-speaking African countries and a part of Canada also need good interpreters with French, so there are still ways out.

盟加传媒:现在有很多语音翻译软件,也有很多口译的功能。随着科技的进步,您怎么看同传这个职业的未来?

尹璧君:多年以来我参加了几次语音翻译软件的测试研究,都不太成功,虽然科技已经有了日新月异的进步,但是仍然无法像人脑那样地按照上下文和语境去自由转换,同一个字在不同情景下应翻成不同的意思,电脑目前还做不到。

AY: In all these years, I participated in several machine-interpreting trials but none of them turned out successful. Although modern technology has made tremendous progress, it cannot yet react like the human brain and cannot convert thoughts into another language depending on the context, nuances and speaking environment: the same words take up diverse meanings in different circumstances, this is what a computer is unable to do for the time being, except for operating manuals or directions for use.

盟加传媒:请您对即将选择同传作为职业的朋友,和正在成为同传的朋友说几句话。谢谢!

尹璧君:对国际会议翻译尤其是对同传感兴趣的朋友,我想说,请不要只看到这一行光鲜的一面,的确它非常吸引人,收入也不错,但是这也是付出异常大的努力后才换来的。除了先天具备的条件(口齿清楚、条理分明),和后天努力学习的外语本领,还必须具备坦诚和虚心的态度才能够走出一条自己在翻译方面的康庄大道 !

AY:  To people who wish to become a Conference Interpreter and who are interested in Simultaneous Interpreting in particular, I’d like to say: “don’t only look at the bright side of this profession _it is indeed very attractive and quite well paid_, because it is thanks to very hard labor. Beside good enunciation, clear analytical mind and language proficiency, to become a good interpreter one needs also (very important) sincerity and learning spirit, the right attitude to pave one’s way to reach one day the wide and broad road of success!

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